Still Waiting

Well it looks like Aaron has decided he'd rather have his college scholarship (there's a new thing in Maine where babies born in 2009 can have a startup scholarship of $500 that families can choose to continue to contribute to over the years) than for us to have the tax deduction!

Wintertime with Precious

Precious has brought us lots of giggles lately as she adjusts to the winter season. As you can see, she has found ways to keep warm. When not sleeping, she goes through stir crazy moments of running through the house, chasing invisible critters, or climbing the walls (literally...with being under construction she has discovered that she can climb over walls into other rooms!). For Christmas, she enjoyed "hiding" under our Christmas wrapping paper and climbing into the boxes...simple pleasures (cat toys are of no interest to her)! Her and I are both enjoying our morning ritual of seeing what footprints were left in the snow from the night before.

39 weeks

There is so much I'm looking forward to once Aaron comes out...

• wearing my wedding ring!!!!!!
• not being kicked, punched, or headbutted from the inside
• being able to eat things I onced enjoyed
• wearing my own clothing
• getting dressed all by myself
• being able to get out of the car and walk without help
• seeing my feet while standing up
• sleeping comfortably
• being able to move at a normal speed...right now a tortoise seems to be in the fast lane
• riding in the car without being aware of every bump or hole
• not living in a constant state of being ready to go to the hospital (although it's made the parable of the virgins come to life...the whole idea of living ready)

Random Thoughts on Pregnancy

I've had many hours in the wee hours of the morning to let my mind wander as I fight to get comfortable. I'm enjoying having these last quiet moments in the night as I know soon my wee hours will consist of Aaron's inflows and outflows of milk. So I've had time to reflect not only on our last year but just my whole pregnancy experience as well...

Recently a fellow pregnant friend and I were discussing the body parts that did not hurt, swell, were uncomfortable or otherwise altered. We came up with 2: elbows and ears. After contemplating this more last night, I still have yet to come up with anymore!

I am fully convinced that God places within our DNA some sort of mind altering chemical that overrides all logic or reason. I cannot figure out why we otherwise would not only procreate but even consider doing it again and again while in the midst of this completely life, mind, body, heart, financial, and in every other way altering process of childbearing and then rearing. Most every aspect of the process is painful, uncomfortable, or just downright disgusting and yet I find myself talking about the next one....

I've discovered that a full bladder, a contraction, and a sneeze are a bad combination...

I've discovered that in people's excitement for you, somehow personal boundaries and basic manners can get lost.

I've discovered this universal connection with every woman that has already been there...from a stranger on the street to close friends and everyone in between, it seems that women are quick to empathize, share what worked and what didn't, and want to tell their story.

Recently I heard a sermon where the speaker talked about the 3 basic sources of stress/pain in our lives... things that happen that you don't want to, things that you want to happen but don't, and things that you want to happen but that happen "too early". I fit in the latter category and have found that to be true as I have been surrounded by people from all of those scenarios. I'm thankful for those who can relate to my journey and the comfort that shared experience has provided but at the same time I hurt for those in the other 2 scenarios. While all 3 stories are difficult and stressful, I trust God's heart in the why's even though it doesn't make sense. I have thought of Mary several times throughout my pregnancy. While obviously an honor to be chosen by God to carry out His purposes in this way, I'm sure she had much adjustment and stress at such an unexpected turn of events in her life. So this holiday when I first heard "Breath of Heaven" it hit me in such a powerful way. I've always enjoyed the song but the words carried so much more strength in them than ever before. I intend to have it playing during part of my labor!

And of course, the best part of all has been the continual realization of how blessed I am to have Matt be my partner through it all. He has been so supportive and helpful in so many ways and I know he will be a great labor coach. He was committed to learning the mechanics right along with me so that we could approach delivery with more confidence and preparedness. He's so excited to have his son come out and I know they will have a wonderful bond. Aaron already responds to his voice and touch!

White Christmas

Well no question it will be a white Christmas this year! The ground is covered in that beautiful, white fluff and the air has that quiet stillness that only comes in the winter. Aahh...still reminds me of my honeymoon :) We did well a couple of weeks ago through the ice storm, only losing power for about 4 hours and last weekend we got 16 inches of snow in just a few hours as we went through a blizzard. It was my worst storm yet and even at that it wasn't a big deal (unless you work for the d.o.t.!). They do a great job of clearing the roads and getting life functional quickly. We are glad that Aaron toughed out not only 2 storms but a full moon as well. He clearly is not going to succomb to these "old wives' tales"!

Christmas Parties

Matt and I have just completed the last of our multiple Christmas celebrations...whew...now hopefully Aaron will give us time to catch our breath before coming out into the world! This picture was taken at our high school party this weekend. There are several other people we know who are pregnant, (I discovered early on that this is a very fertile place!) including one of our leaders standing here with me. It's been nice to share the pregnancy journey with her!

Hugs for Aaron

Beth loves to gives hugs and kisses to Aaron. She recently has gotten quite a giggle over Aaron pushing my belly button out. She often expresses to me how excited she is to see him! Seeing my pregnancy through her eyes has been some of the most special moments of this journey.

Sundae

Matt was given this t-shirt by a local restaurant after he took the kids there who were learning how to confidently share their faith as a way of life. They ate a giant sundae as they were doing some practice in a public setting. We thought it would be a fun t-shirt for me to wear while in labor since my belly looks like I swallowed an "18 wheeler" sundae all on my own!

Baby's Room

It is finished!!!!! I am so excited about how the baby room turned out. Matt did a great job and we were blessed by the generosity of many giving gifts or a helping hand to make this possible!

Precious Moments

We are seeing the first dustings of snow. So far it's not much and melts pretty quickly...so it looks like Christmas in the morning and back to green by afternoon. We are totally okay with that! As you can see Precious got "coated" one morning! She's already slowing down into hibernation mode. Not much hunting left to do right now!

The other picture is her being Matt's assistant plumber with the drain problem we had recently (Matt's discovered the downside to having so much hair around the house!).